An Overview of the United States National Debt

The Current Outstanding Public Debt of the United States is:

$16,738,183,526,697.32

Every man, woman and child in the United States currently owes $55,092 for their share of the U.S. public debt

Public Debt: $11,976,279,236,073.83
Intragovernmental Holdings: $4,761,904,290,623.49

Total U.S. National Debt: $16,738,183,526,697.32

Question: Who owns the public debt?

Answer: Mutual funds, pension funds, foreign governments, foreign investors, American investors, etc.

Which Foreign governments own the most U.S. debt?

Answer: Here is the Top 10 (as of May/2013)

1. China, Mainland, $1315.9 billion dollars
2. Japan, $1111.0 billion dollars
3. Oil Exporters*, $266.3 billion dollars
4. Brazil, $255.5 billion dollars
5. Carib Bnkng Ctrs**, $253.2 billion dollars
6. All Other, $218.9 billion dollars
7. Taiwan, $189.4 billion dollars
8. Switzerland, $187.0 billion dollars
9. Belgium, $171.0 billion dollars
10. United Kingdom, $155.2 billion dollars

*Includes oil exporting countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran

**includes countries such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands

Of the $5.1 trillion dollars of US debt that is owned by foreign governments, China and Japan own nearly half, as evidenced by this chart:

Growth of US Debt Over Past 50 Years

Current: $16,738,183,526,697.32
2010: $13,178,317,356,215.73
2004: $7,379,052,696,330.32
1999: $5,656,270,901,615.43
1994: $4,692,749,910,013.32
1989: $2,857,430,960,187.32
1984: $1,572,266,000,000.00
1979: $826,519,000,000.00
1974: $475,059,815,731.55
1969: $353,720,253,841.41
1964: $311,712,899,257.30
1959: $284,705,907,078.22

Commonly Asked Questions:

How much Money does the United States Owe China?

A: $1.32 Trillion (May/2013)

How much Money does the United States Owe Japan?

A: $1.11 Trillion (May/2013)

How much Money does the United States Owe Russia?

A: $150.9 Billion (May/2013)

How much Money does the United States Owe the United Kingdom?

A: $155.2 Billion (May/2013)

How much Money does the United States Owe Germany?

A: $62.7 Billion (May/2013)

How much Money does the United States Owe Canada?

A: $59.7 Billion (May/2013)

By: Dave Manuel